Upon Awakening
by CurlyPride
Summary: SPOILERS FOR ENDGAME SPOILERS FOR ENDGAME SPOILERS FOR ENDGAME. A rewrite, but not fix-it, to the end of Endgame, plus a missing scene.


Endgame made me cry. This is my response.

Disclaimer: none of the characters or stories are mine, much to my dismay. I only own the original dialogue and scenes, but that's just because I can't remember the actual dialogue.

Peter woke to the sound of sniffling. A hand ran through his messy curls. All he wanted to do was go back to sleep.

"Is he awake?" _Pepper? No one else could sound that calm and worried at the same time._

"Give him a minute." _Rhodey. But why was Rhodey here? Where was– _

Peter opened his eyes to a blurry world around him. He moved to rub his eyes, only to be stopped by an all-encompassing ache in his body. He must have groaned because someone tightened their grip on his hand. Peter lifted his hand to his face and wiped the sleep from his eyes.

"Hey, Peter," Pepper sat in a chair next to his bed. "How are you feeling?"

"M'okay. Where's—where's Mr. Stark?" Peter asked.

Pepper's eyes filled with tears. "What do you remember, Peter?"

* * *

_Peter recognized Tony's body leaning against a small pile of rubble after the battle. Half of his face had been burnt away, leaving the shadow of incredible power behind._

_"Hey, Mr. Stark. Can you hear me?" The man made no mention to indicate his awareness other than a slow blink and a heavy breath. After what felt like an eternity, Tony's hoarse voice choked up,_

_"P…Peter."_

_"Yeah, hey, no fading on me now, okay?"_

_"No…promises."_

_"You did it, Mr. Stark—"_

_"Tony." The dying man cut in._

_"—we won. Thanos, the creepy army, all gone. The wizard with the made-up name brought me back, isn't that awesome?"_

_"Kid…"_

_"Yeah, Mr. Stark?"_

_"You…did…good."_

_"You too."_

_"Official," Tony coughed, "avenger now."_

_Pepper knelt next to Peter, cradling her husband's right hand in her armor-clad palm. Peter took that as his silent que to give her space._

_"…Pep."_

_"Hi, sweetheart."_

_"…did it."_

_"Yeah, you did."_

_"Finally…found…the armor."_

_"You know I'm furious at you about this, right?" Pepper laughed through the tears._

_"You…love me…anyways."_

_"Always and—"_

_"Forever."_

_With that, the arc reactor flickered and went dark. His gaze slid away from Pepper and off into the distance, not latching into anything, pupils widening from lack of focus. Pepper's breath hitched on a sob and pressed a final kiss against Tony's cheek._

_Peter couldn't process anything. Mr. Stark- no, he always wanted Peter to call him Tony but he was Mr. Stark. Mr. Stark couldn't be no he couldn't be. Mr. Stark can't die he's Iron Man who's going to be Iron Man now? He just got back and Peter has so much to tell him—_

_A hand clasped his shoulder. Peter turned to see Rhodey's face looking down, tears cutting a path through blood and grime. "Pete, hey."_

_Peter's knees went weak. Just as he began to sway, Rhodey caught him. "Kiddo, sit down." Rhodey guided him to a block of concrete and lowered him down. He lifted Peter's feet and slid something underneath them. A small part of Peter's brain realized Rhodey was treating him for shock but none of it made it to his prefrontal cortex. He didn't really feel any of his bruises and (most likely) broken ribs. Concussion, too. Karen had mentioned something about head trauma during the battle. His eyes were locked on Mr. Stark's corpse—no, not his corpse it couldn't be his corpse no Shuri can fix him right Wakanda has the technology he's not really gone—_

_Rhodey stepped in front of Peter's line of vision, obscuring his view of his mentor. "Kid, look at me. Peter. Eyes on me." He grasped Peter's chin and angled his face so he was making eye contact with Rhodey. "Your pupils are dilated," he murmured. "you feel nauseous?" Just as he finished the sentence, Peter turned to the left and vomited up whatever he had in his stomach. Rhodey rubbed his back, letting the AI in his suit run scans on Peter's body, frowning when he saw the damage._

_"M'sorry, Mr. Rhodes," Peter said, "I didn't mean to puke on your suit."_

_"Don't worry about it, kiddo."_

_"I don't feel so great," Peter lifted his hands, almost expecting them to be fading away again. With that, he tilted sideways, eyes rolling back. Rhodey instinctively caught him, having stopped a passed-out-Tony from falling too many times to count. Cradling Peter's limp body against the suit, he turned to Steve and Thor, who stood behind him._

_"Where do you want me to bring him?"_

_"Stark Tower, in the city. There should be a med-team ready." Steve replied. Rhodey nodded and after a quick glance to ensure Peter was snug in his arms for the quick flight, took off._

* * *

"Peter, do you remember what Tony did?" Pepper asked.

Peter nodded. "He's not coming to see me, is he?"

Pepper moved from the chair to sit on the edge of the bed, taking Peter's hand into hers. "No, he isn't." She handed Peter a tissue, already seeing the tears rolling down his face.

"What happened to me?"

Rhodey stepped closer to the bed. His eyes might have appeared normal, but Peter could see the slight irritation from tears and swollen skin. "You passed out, probably from shock, at the rubble of the compound. I flew you to Star—" he took a shaky breath, "Stark Tower. And Dr. Cho treated your injuries. You've been sleeping for the past day and a half. Your aunt is staying in one of the apartments on another floor."

"What do we do now, Mr. Rhodes?" Peter look at the colonel, hands bunched into the blanket.

"We gather everyone… and say goodbye."


End file.
